Steve Kerr

OAKLAND — No one came to cover him, so Shaun Livingston kept dribbling. Down the right side, he picked up speed as he got closer.

He had been struggling all series, his weariness betraying his reliable post game. This time, he didn’t pull up for his patented jumper. He didn’t slow it down and reset the offense, to avoid another airball or turnover. Instead, he’d had enough.

His stretching one-hand dunk shocked the sea of yellow. It was an emphatic illustration of his resolve, as he released all his frustration on the rim. It was also a symbolic highlight in the Warriors’ 96-88 win to clinch the Western Conference Finals.

Oklahoma City had Livingston bottled up. The Thunders’ athleticism negated his quickness. Oklahoma City’s length thwarted his skill. The Thunder’s energy preyed on his heavy legs. Still, he wouldn’t be denied. It was a metaphor for the Warriors and this series.

No one will be able to say the Warriors didn’t face adversity this time. They can’t be accused of lucky breaks or getting hot at the right time.

They are in the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year because they earned it. Maaaan, did they earn it.

“They gave us all we could handle,” Shaun Livingston said. “The length they had. Two superstars. But we prevailed. We had to.”

Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) scores three-points against Portland Trail Blazers’ Al-Farouq Aminu (8) in overtime of Game 4 of the second round of the NBA Western Conference playoffs at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, May 9, 2016. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

How do you quantify Stephen Curry’s 40 point outing, with 17 points coming in five minutes of overtime, and where this individual performance stands among the greatest comebacks in NBA history?

Bay Area News Group columnists Tim Kawakami and Marcus Thompson analyze Curry’s historic night and how the Warriors MVP point guard was able to pull off such an incredible moment after not playing in a game for more than two weeks.

Without Stephen Curry, the Warriors pulled off one of the most epic fourth quarter comeback wins of the 2015-16 season. In the playoffs, no less.

Bay Area News Group’s Courtney Cronin and Marcus Thompson break down what went wrong for the Warriors in three quarters of Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals and how Klay Thompson, Festus Ezeli and Draymond Green were able to pick up the Warriors in the fourth quarter and lead GSW to a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals.

OAKLAND — Everything started so well. The Warriors ripped off an 18-2 run early in the first quarter and was in command before the Oracle seats were filled.

This was going to be a night where the Warriors got rest. They were going to destroy lowly Minnesota and turn the game into one of those fourth-quarter laughers. But then something happened.

The Warriors got bored.

They disengaged mentally, their motivation robbed by the ease of building a 15-point first quarter lead. The let off the gas, only to press on it again to take a 17-point midway through the third. They again resorted to playing with their food.

Only problem: when they tried to 0 the switch, turn it back on again, they didn’t have the spark. On top of that, Minnesota was grooving unlike a 25-win team, but like one of the NBA’s promising young collectives.

The result was another home loss, 124-117 in overtime, the second in three games. And with that, brow-raising concern sweeping through Dub Nation. Are they tired? Is the pursuit of 73 too much of a burden? Has the rest of the league figured them out?

In the pregame film session, before the Warriors took on Sacramento, Luke Walton had some praise for Marreese Speights.

The team watched as Draymond Green went up for a 3 and zipped a pass to Livingston down low for a layup. Walton highlighted Speights’ aggressive pursuit of the offensive rebound.

“He said ‘Because whenever Draymond shoots, we have to crash the boards,'” Green said smiling, recalling the session. ” ‘He said that in front of the whole team. We were all laughing. That’s why I went 5 for 7 from 3.”

That’s been one of the easiest parts of his stint as interim head coach. Walton is a player at heart. So communicating with players, knowing how to push their buttons, what they need to hear, all that stuff comes natural.

He knows Green responds to challenges. And Speights, struggling mightily, doesn’t need it sugarcoated. And Stephen Curry is naturally hard on himself.

But it was other elements he learned that has him as excited as ever about his head coaching future. His 32-game stint thus far has given him an honest dose of his desired profession. And this high-pressure internship Walton is on, while Steve Kerr recovers from two offseason surgeries, has confirmed for Walton his next calling is as a head coach.

“I love it,” Walton said. “This is awesome. I thought I did but you never really know until you do it.”

Walton’s days as the Warriors head coach might be coming to an end soon. Behind the scenes, people in the organization are expecting Kerr to reclaim his post.